Introduction
Mestre Irineu, who received this mission from the Queen of the Forest, is “Juramidam” or “Juramidã“.
Mestre Irineu is also specifically referred as “Rei Juramidã“.
The origin of Juramidam
Juramidam is not a term known outside of the Daime. It originates within the Daime, specifically for Mestre Irineu.
In the closing of the work, we say “Com a ordem do Nosso Mestre Imperio Juramidam (or Nosso Chefe Imperio Juramidã), está encerrado o nosso trabalho, meus irmãos e minhas irmãs”. Here, we are closing the work in the name and order of Mestre Irineu himself.
This “Chefe Imperio” is translated into English as “Imperial Master”. Chefe is the specific word used in the origins of the doctrine centers which follow his teachings.
In the vivas Mestre Irineu is featured when we say “Viva Nosso Chefe Imperio!”. This is why when we sing Cruzeiro, we would not include a “viva dono do hinario” in the second person. This is because Mestre Irineu is already mentioned as the “chefe imperio” in the first section of the vivas and is the same “chefe imperio” in the closing of the work.
In the line of Padrinho Sebastião this can be amended to say “Nosso Mestre Imperio”, because the “Master” or “Juramidam” is being seperated away from the actual man Mestre Irineu and can be attributed to others such as the “Master Jesus”. However, even Padrinho Alfredo says “viva nosso Chefe Imperio” when he gives vivas, and you can hear this in many recordings on the internet. Remember that Padrinho Alfredo took his star from Mestre Irineu himself.
Juramidam as a title given to Mestre Irineu
Juramidam (Juramidã) is the title given to Mestre Irineu. The title is given to Mestre Irineu himself, and he understood to be synonymous with the term. He is Juramidã. Read the hymns very carefully and you will notice this.
This is the primary understanding that is asserted by Alto Santo, centers that follow Mestre Irineu, Luis Mendes and Fortaleza line, and by many even in the line of Padrinho Sebastião*. However, there is more to it based on what Padrinho Sebastião says about the term which we will elaborate on further in the article based on direct quotes and textual references to the “gospel of Padrinho Sebastião” written by Alex Polari and his other written published works.
It is also asserted by sources such as websites such as “A Familia Juramidam“, which unfortunately are no longer online.
The Account of Guido Carioca
English Translation
Mr. Antônio Gomes arrived at the doctrine of Mestre Irineu Serra in 1938 and spent almost 8 years in the doctrine. He left us this beautiful hymnal which today we know as “Amor Divino” containing 39 hymns. Hymns of pure wisdom coming from the Astral.
Hymns that bring stories lived by this gentleman linked to his earthly life and also, to his knowledge in the spiritual field.
Upon his arrival in the Doctrine, he developed a very deep friendship with his Master. They were friends in that sense of faithful friendship.
Long before master Irineu manifested his spiritual identity of Juramidã to the brotherhood, in his hymn 111 – “Estou Aqui” (received in 1959), Mr. Antônio Gomes had already revealed this secret in relation to his friend from the astral, when he received his hymn no. 13 – “General Juramidã”, long before 1946, details of his passage to the astral.
Mestre was a man of many conversations with his friends in the Doctrine since the beginning and even months before his passage through the spiritual world. However, there is no record (to my knowledge) if in some of these conversations the Master said that in the astral he was known with this name of Juramidã. Even after his friend Mr. Antônio Gomes received this secret from the astral and made it known to the entire brotherhood.
Once, my father [Júlio Carioca] told me about one of his conversations with Mestre Irineu.
It was when my father [Júlio Carioca] told [Mestre Irineu] that it was so difficult to see him in his visions….it was when the [Mestre Irineu] asked my father what he called his presence. Then my father said he called him by his name “Irineu Serra”. Then [Mestre Irineu] taught him to start calling himself, when working with Daime, the name “Juramidã”.
In an individual conversation with the Mestre’s former disciples, Mestre revealed some secrets… Mestre stayed in his place, in his residence and waited for anyone looking for him. With all the power given to him by his spiritual mother, Mestre was a person of great humility… quiet as he doesn’t even say in his hymn nº 75 – “As estrelas já chegaram”, 4th stanza:
The Stars told me
Listen a lot and talk a little
To be able to understand
And talk to my caboclos
Guido Carioca, 2023
Original Portuguese Text
O senhor Antônio Gomes, chegou à doutrina do mestre Irineu Serra em 1938 e passando somente quase 8 anos na doutrina, nos deixou este belíssimo hinário, que hoje conhecemos como “Amor Divino” contendo 39 hinos. Hinos de puríssimas sabedorias vinda do Astral.
Hinos que trazem histórias vividas por este senhor ligado em sua vida terrena e também, em seus conhecimentos no campo espiritual.
Logo em sua chegada na Doutrina, cativou do mestre uma amizade muito profunda. Eram amigos naquele sentido de amizade fiel.
Muito antes do mestre Irineu manifestar para a irmandade sua identidade espiritual de Juramidã, em seu hino 111 – Estou aqui, recebido em 1959, o senhor Antônio Gomes, já havia desvendado do astral esse segredo em relação ao seu amigo, quando recebeu seu hino nº 13 – General Juramidã, muito antes de 1946, dados de sua passagem para o astral.
O Mestre foi um homem de muitas conversas com seus amigos e amigas da Doutrina desde o início da Doutrina e até mesmo, meses antes de sua passagem pelo mundo espiritual.
Porém, não há registro (do meu conhecimento) se em algumas dessas conversas o Mestre tenha dito que no astral era conhecido com esta denominação de Juramidã. Mesmo depois que seu amigo o Sr. Antônio Gomes recebeu do astral esse segredo e colocado ao conhecimento de toda irmandade.
Uma vez, meu pai me relatou uma de suas conversas com o Mestre Irineu.
Foi quando o meu pai disse para o Mestre do porque que era tão difícil de ver o mestre em suas mirações….foi quando o mestre disse ao meu pai, de como ele chamava a presença dele…. aí o meu disse que chamou pelo nome dele, de Irineu Serra. Aí o mestre ensinou a ele, que passasse a chamar, quando fosse em trabalho com Daime, pelo nome de Juramidã.
Em conversa individual com os antigos discípulos do Mestre, o Mestre soltou alguns segredos… o Mestre ficou em seu lugar, em sua residência e ficou esperando por quem por ele procurasse. Com todo poder nas mães dado pela sua mãe espiritual, o Mestre era uma pessoa de muita humildade… calado que nem diz em seu hino nº 75 – As estrelas já chegaram, 4ª estrofe:
As Estrelas me disseram
Ouvir muito e falar um pouco
Para poder compreender
E conversar com meus caboclos
Guido Carioca, 2023
The Account of Daniel Serra
This excerpt was posted originally on this webpage. It involves a conversation with Daniel Serra:
On the contrary, are there indications that he is the patriarch 1117 of an astral family – or “angelic order”? –, the ” general Juramidam “. 1118
– Was he talking about Juramidam, talking, before this hymn arrived?
– Yes, from the beginning.
– And what did you say from the beginning?
– Which is his name, really. Here he was Irineu, but there his name is this, the proper name given to him by the divinity himself there… It wasn’t him who made himself, right? He was already determined with that name. His patent, his spirit, there in eternity; no one gets there calling Irineu, because no one there knows who Irineu is, there it is Juramidam. Therefore, when we make our prayers, our requests, we have to ask Juramidam. You will see Christ speaking within you, pure, pure, pure, he is God in truth” 1119 .
Here is another account from someone indicating that Mestre Irineu spoke of himself as Juramidam before the hymn was received, similar to the account of Guido Carioca above. Considering that Estou Aqui was received in 1959 and Mestre returned from Maranhão a short time before that with Daniel Serra, it is the understanding of those who spent many years around him in the 1950s assert upon “calling upon” Mestre Irineu in the works as Juramidam.
Mestre Irineu also said a similar thing right before his death, when he said after he dies we should call upon him in the works and he will come to us.
The author of the article I linked above now continues with this quote:
Which is not the same as saying that ” Irineu Serra was Jesus Christ while he was on earth, but he continues to be seen and recognized in the figure of General Juramidam on the highest plane of the astral world” 1120 , or stating that Juramidam is “another name” of Jesus Christ, as the quest to validate the “new Amazonian religion” is strenuously insisted upon.
Yes, there is a quest to validate a “new Amazonian religion” that is distinct from Christianity. Though the hinários of Mestre and the Companions don’t seem to back that up.
The Account of Dona Percilia Matos
According to the same source above, we have this quote from Dona Percilia:
Jesus Christ and Juramidam are not the same, it’s what the Master taught, don’t you know?
She worked with Mestre side by side for decades together. Juramidam is not Jesus Christ, and Mestre Irineu is not Jesus Christ or a reincarnation of him either. How could it be when you read the hymns? This is elaborated on further at the bottom of the page in the account of Luiz Carlos de Carvalho Teixeira de Freitas.
Juramidam as the personification of a plant spirit of the Daime
In the line of Padrinho Sebastião with these new teachings, many say that “Juramidam” is not Mestre Irineu himself. This is asserted and codified in books such as “the religion of Ayahuasca” by Alex Polari. This is not meant to be an attack in any way, we just want to clarify for educational purposes the differences in understanding between the various different lines. Alex Polari has done so much great work for the legalization of Daime across the world in several countries and for that we can only praise and revere the positive impact he has made.
Take a look at this quote from the book “Religion of Ayahuasca” by Alex Polari:
Juramidam The name given by Mestre Irineu to the Divine Being who lives in the spiritual drink. Juramidam presides over the spiritual lineage of the Santo Daime. The hymns speak of Juramidam as being the new manifestation of Christ in the forest.
We need to clarify that this is not how “Juramidam” is understood by the traditional groups in Rio Branco. The hymns of Mestre Irineu nor the companions teach about “divine being” living in the drink. The one who presides over the works is the Virgin Mary. Read the hymns of Mestre Irineu, his companions, and even hinarios of the 1970s-1990s era and you will see it is very explicit that the one who is watching over us in the works is Virgin Mary. It is not a teaching of plant consciousness, this is some type of plant shamanism teaching that found its way into Santo Daime community. When the passaged quoted above says that “the hymns speak of Juramidam” he also does not specify which hymns. It is 100% true that in his own hinário and in the hymns of many ICEFLU people, this definition is 100% correct.
When someone might say “Tonight during the work, the Daime told me [this]”, the personality which seems to communicate to us when we drink the holy beverage of Daime in a personified format can be understood to be “Juramidam” as an entity. This is asserted by some people as the understanding, however only within the line of Padrinho Sebastiao where a more flexible understanding of the term must be exercised given that they do not hold Irineu’s instructions of the work to be the total final authority.
They may try and say then “Oh Juramidam told me this! Juramidam is the plant teacher I meet in the works!”. The one who teaches us in the works is Virgin Mary. Read the hinarios of Mestre and the companions and this is explained – “ela é mãe de todos os ensinos”. The hymns are prayers directed and offered directly to Virgin Mary. The idea that in the Daime we are being taught by a magical plant teacher detaches it from its Christian (and specifically Catholic) origins, that it could be sent out to a diverse international audience of people who do not even need to believe in Virgin Mary or Christianity at all to do the works.
All plants do have some level of consciousness and personality, just like animals do. Whether we are talking about ayahuasca, cannabis, tobacco, the maple tree, grass or even potatoes. They may speak to us at different volumes, but all have their own traits and teachings for us to absorb in the format that we can understand as a personality when we consume them. The practice of shamanic plant dietas from the Amazon are a framework that are used when people go into a period of absitinence and isolation in order to get better direct communication with the plants, and homeopathy is another great example of a practice that aims to get us to understand the subtle traits of all the different plant spirits. However, Mestre Irineu never taught for us to commune with these plant spirits. He taught devotion to the Virgin Mary who presents us to God the Father. Who did Mestre Irineu meet in the works? The hinarios never mention any Ayahuasca plant teacher named Juramidam. He met the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Joseph, and the Divine Eternal Father.
Juramidam as a Christ Spirit
Some believe this personification Juramidam character in the drink to be the “second coming” of the Christ, or as some type of “hierophant” which opens up the door to the etheric realm where we meet the “Christ being” who is a floating orb of light. Look at this other quote from a book called “Liquid Light”:
Most (all?) daimistas believe that the Christ Consciousness has incarnated within the physical liquid of the Daime itself.6 Understood in this way, the Daime is a true sacrament.7 When daimistas drink the Daime, it is an oppor-tunity to feel, viscerally, a deeply intimate communion with the Christ Con-sciousness. Daimistas even have a name for that liberative, transformative, redemptively divine Christic Power: Juramidam.There’s a whole set of typically implicit, overlapping theological assumptions that are associated with Juramidam, but for now, let’s just say that Juramidam is not only the Christic Presence and Power that is manifested in the Daime, but it is also understood by most daimistas to be Mestre Irineu’s “name in the astral,” which means that for most daimistas, Mestre Irineu (the founder of the Santo Daime) is seen as the continuation of the full incarnation of the spirit of the Christ that first took place in-and-as the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In this way, Mestre Irineu is often understood as the replanting, the reflowering of that Christ Consciousness, this time shining forth in the middle of the Amazon rain forest, in the person of an almost seven-foot-tall, illiterate son of former slaves.
Mestre Irineu did not mention Christ Consciousness in the hymns. The hymns do explicitly say that Mestre has the power that was given to him by the Virgin Mary and that power is the power of Jesus Christ, and the power of God the Father. But this is all the power that any of us receives comes from God. Mestre Irineu was a baptized-catholic Brazilian and dedicated devotee of the Blessed Mother Virgin Mary. While Mestre did depart from the Catholic Church after discrimination against him, one cannot look past the roots of the doctrine. The Queen of the Forest gave Mestre Irineu the mission of replanting the doctrine of “Jesus Christ”. This book is not based on the hymns directly of Mestre Irineu and his companions. Sources and accounts online from various Alto Santo dissidents specify that Mestre Irineu taught that the only way anyone ever would ever be healed from the work is if the Virgin Mary allowed it. She is the Lady of All Splendors in this house. The love is coming from her. She is our mother, just like how Jesus said on the cross. They will say its the spirits, the plant consciousness, or some other frameworks they will impose over the hymns – but ultimately Virgin Mary is the Queen, and she picked our Chefe Imperio Juramidã (Mestre Irineu) in order to teach us this.
This excerpt Mestre Irineu is a continuation of the “spirit of the Chirst”. In the original hinarios Christ is not a spirit, and is one in the same as Jesus. Jesus Christ the Redeemer. Mestre Irineu and his companions believed in the Holy Trinity – which is the teaching of most modern Christians – and this not the same concept as a “Christ Consciousness” or “Christ Being” which are spread around in many new age spiritualities. Please reconsider this excerpt above and do not blindly trust what you read about Santo Daime on the internet. Please read the hymns and pray for guidance. They say that Christ was born from the Virgin Mary, the teachings are coming from her, and that nobody wants to believe that she’s the one behind all this.
Juramidam in the hymns of Santo Daime
Mestre Irineu’s hymn “Estou Aqui” (Cruzeiro #111)
This hymn is the only reference in Mestre Irineu’s hinario to him using “Juramidã” at all. He is the narrator, speaking about himself in the third person.
Aqui findei
Faço a minha narração
Para sempre se lembrarem
Do Velho Juramidã
Antonio Gomes’ hymn “O General Juramidã” (O Amor Divino #13)
O General Juramidã
Os seus trabalhos é no astralEntra no reino de Deus
Quem tem força Divinal
Francisco Granjeiro Filho’s hymn “Preste Atenção” (O Apuro #11)
Preste atenção
Preste atenção
Ao dono desta casa
Que é o Senhor Juramidã
Pay attention to the owner of this house, who is Juramidã (Mestre Irineu).
Padrinho Sebastião’s hymn “Estou Aqui” (O Justiceiro #2)
Estou aqui
Que o Mestre me mandou
Eu vou citar o nome
O Mestre é Juramidam
The Master is Juramidam. Right here in Padrinho Sebastião’s second hymn dating back to when he was there in Alto Santo working with him face to face.
Here is something very interesting for you to contemplate. These early hymns of the Mapiense patriarchs from the Alto Santo era, when they begin the hinarios “Mestre” and “Juramidam” always refer to the actual man Mestre Irineu. Then later on as you flip through the hinarios towards the middle and end, it becomes more open ended who the Master could be.
Note also that this hymn is the same melody as Germano #7 “Tenho Prazer” with new lyrics.
Go back and read all of the hinarios of Mestre and his Companions. The hymns are very direct, and lay out explicitly that the Queen of the Forest has come to deliver the Doctrine of Jesus Christ through Mestre Irineu, and we are called to turn in devotional prayer to her.
Padrinho Sebastião’s hymn “Somos Midam” (Nova Jerusalem #18)
Here is a recording of the Hymn #18 from Nova Jerusalém by Padrinho Sebastião titled “Somos Midam”. The hymn is offered to Marizilda and we include a relevant stanza right below.
Minhas irmãs meu nome é este
Aqui eu vou declarar
Meu Pai se chama Jura
E nós todos somos Midam
The line translates approximately to: “My Father is called Jura and we are all Midam“. In Portuguese, “jura” means an “oath”. By this point, there is absolutely no regard for attaching Juramidam to Mestre Irineu anymore, and the formely closed and set Christian doctrine of the Daime is now openly compatible for anyone’s interpretation to overlay other spiritual systems over it.
Spelling dispute: Juramidam vs Juramidã
Alto Santo connected Daime centers use the spelling of “Juramidã” while Santo Daime Churches in the line of Padrinho Sebastião use “Juramidam”.
The case for Juramidam
It is claimed that Dona Percília Matos insists upon the spelling “Juramidam”:
According to Mrs. Percília Matos, his adoptive daughter and keeper of his hinário, Mestre Irineu wrote, from his own hands, Juramidam with termination in “m”.
Source by Marcos Camargo – CRF – Centro da Rainha da Floresta / São Paulo
However, this claim contains the incorrect statement that Dona Percilia was his adopted daughter. Rather, “Martha” and “Paolo” were the names of Mestre’s two adopted children, and Valcírio is his biological son (who is still alive today as of 2023). Mestre helped to raise many children and was like a father to many, but he never adopted Dona Percília Matos. However, she very well could have said this and Mestre very well could have written it with an “m” at the end at least some times if not every time.
This spelling of “Juradmiam” is used in all written texts and hinários in the line of Padrinho Sebastião.
The case for Juramidã
Alto Santo and centers in Rio Branco that follow the teachings of Mestre Irineu almost always insist upon the spelling “Juramidã”.
In Brazilian Portuguese when a word ends in “m”, you would never actually pronounce that sound as an “m”. You are not closing your lips to make a typical “mmmm” sound. The pronunciations are almost the same.
Apparently, according to the standards of the Portuguese language, some people assert that Juramidã should be the correct spelling according to this rule:
“No fim das palavras como falam, batem, alguém, am e em não são dígrafos, porque representam um ditongo nasal, portanto, dois fonemas.” (Novíssima Gramática da Língua Portuguesa, Domingos Paschoal Cegalla, Editora Nacional, 41ª Edição, pág. 31).
“Ô em Juramidã representa um único fonema.
The spelling used in the CICLU – ALTO SANTO is consistent with that of Afro-Amerindian entities such as Iansã, Nanã, Tupã, or even Oxyton words ending in a nasal, such as irmã, talismã, afã, anã etc.
Here is an image of an hinário cover from Flor do Céu, from whom we linked above and is the operator of “mestreirineu.org”:
Look at the following excerpt from 2 different copies of Mestre Irineu hymn 111 “Estou Aqui”, which contains the only reference to “Juramidam” in the entire hinario of O Cruzeiro.
You can see the two different spellings here, although they do have identical pronunciation.
Dona Percília as Taio Ciris Midam
Dona Percília was the adopted daughter of Mestre Irineu and the zeladora of his hinario. She has a hymn that goes the following:
Ciris Midam
É meu nome aqui
Eu vou dizer o meu nome
É Taio Ciris MidamFoi meu Mestre quem me deu
Este prêmio de valor
Para mim estimar
E gravar este amor
Look at this rough translation of dialogue:
Clodomir – Did you receive this hymn during the miração?
Percília – Inside the miração… I had a fever that day!…
Clodomir – And was it an entity that told you that?
Percília – I heard, I didn’t see, I heard the music… and when I gave up I was already singing.
Clodomir – That Mrs. it really was this entity…
Percília – Yes…Taio Ciris Midam…
Clodomir – And everyone in Alto Santo recognizes that you are really Ciris Midam… Pedro – Well, Mestre himself recorded it… went into the clean the hymn… your superior self…
Percília -Yes, my superior self… so that means I’m from the same family… as Midam… right? Clodomir – It’s connected to his other half… Percília – Yeah… that’s it.
Clodomir – That’s it, one is Jura, the other is Midam, the masculine and the feminine…
Percília – It was cleared with the Master…
Look how the man interviewing Percília is talking to her about an “entity”. As Percília puts it directly here: “It was cleared with the Master”. Mestre Irineu.
The Commentary of Luiz Carlos de Carvalho Teixeira de Freitas
The original article is posted here and I am going to copy paste the relevant sections below. This content was originally hosted on “juramidam.jor.br” and that website went offline, then “afamiliajuramidam.org” went offline, so it is important to rehost this information with credit that is critical for Daimistas across the world:
With this intention, and directly contradicting the teachings of Master Irineu – ” Jesus Christ and Juramidam are not the same, it’s what the Master taught, don’t you know? ” 1121 –, it was stated from 1992 onwards that Sebastião Mota de Melo, then already deceased for two years, he would have suppressed a verse from his hymn 39 (it is said to have been received when master Irineu was still in the world and old Mota was working alongside him, which is nonsense given the degree of disagreement regarding to the teaching of master Irineu…) and that such information would be the ” understanding of everything ” [ACCORDING TO AN ACCOUNT OF ALEX POLARI] :
“The name has been changed
to avoid confusion:
it changed from Jesus Christ,
now it is Juramidam”.But Mestre Irineu never stated that!
On the contrary – and so as not to just focus on Dona Percília’s statement, seen above, however authoritative it may be -, the One who manifests himself in the Master is precise and crystal clear in several hymns when he states that “Jesus Christ sent me, forever amen , Jesus ” 1123 , ” Jesus Christ sent me to live here ” 1124 , ” remember Jesus Christ ” 1125 ,
“Our Mother, plus Jesus Christ,
ordered him
to fulfill this mission
as a master teacher” 1126
or“This star that guides us
that the divine Father sent,
with the ever Virgin Mary
and Jesus Christ the Redeemer” 1127
or“Jesus Christ is the one who commands us,
Jesus Christ is the one who gives us,
he sent our master
here to teach us” 1128
or“Jesus Christ the Redeemer
is the owner of these teachings,
he handed them over to our master
to follow in this destiny” 1129
or“We must all have
this consecration,
that He went to Your throne
and left the Master on the mission” 1130
or“I’m here, I’m here.
God in heaven, who determines.
I’m leaning against my master,
Jesus Christ and the Queen” 1131 .
And, if that wasn’t enough,“God in front, God in peace,
in the heights where He is.
I’m traveling with God,
one day I will arrive.”
” God in front “?, ” I’m traveling with God “?, someone might ask…To be answered by master Irineu in the following stanza:
“Jesus Christ goes with me,
goes in my company,
so that one day I may enter
into Sovereignty” 1132 .
God Jesus.Whoever is singing-teaching, then, it is in fact much more complex to understand than claiming that there was a “reincarnation of Jesus Christ”, which would seem to simplify everything but is nonsense!
[…]This is not a question of the “reincarnation of Jesus Christ”, since the man Jesus was not animated by a soul that came from an incarnation and could go on to one more, nor was he just an avatar among others, as new-age culture wants (appropriating part of Hindu thought), because in him the Word, eternal and Only Begotten Son of the Triune God, had become human in Mary.
[…]Who, then, is the ” chefe “, the ” velho Juramidam “, ” the owner of the entire Empire “, ” the owner of greater force ” 1145 ? Sing a hymn:
“The chief who came to earth
[…]
as a teaching master,
received this mission
that the Virgin Mother gave him” 1146 .The mission of, by the Grace and power of God, in a Marian mission, transforming Raimundo Irineu Serra and preparing him 1150 for the reception and inhabitation of the Paraclete .
It is worth remembering that in 1916, before the six apparitions of the Mother of God in Fátima, to the little shepherds, the visionaries were visited several times by an angel, “in order to prepare them for the visit of the Virgin ” 1151 .